Worst album openers - whaddya got?

My vote is for "You Moved In" on Smog's The Doctor Came At Dawn...I always double check the track listing in disbelief.

"Rainy Day Women" ruins Blonde on Blonde for me.

yeah, i always skip that one without even thinking about it.

"Are You Hung Up?" on We're Only in It for the Money

more of a skit than actual song?

"Love's In Need Of Love Today". It's not the worst thing ever, but ...Key Of Life is otherwise a pretty much perfect album to my ears, so I always get a little impatient with that dirgey intro.

"Contre le Sexisme" on Sonic Youth's A Thousand Leaves - 4 minutes of Kim rambling about kittens over random scraping noises does not kick the album off in grand style.

I never really liked the EXP/Up From the Skies opening of Axis Bold as Love

I always thought the cover of "You're No Good" that opens Van Halen II was kind of an odd choice.

"Garden of Earthly Delights" from XTC's Oranges & Lemons. That song is a nutshell of everything I don't like about that record.

i loathe Bjork's Army Of Me but was astonished by the rest of Post. it's still my fave Bjork album, Army of Me still her worst single IMO.

Not just "Love's in Need of Love Today," but nearly the entire first full side of Songs in the Key of Life.

DEMONS, OUT

He, It rallies with "Sir Duke" and the 20 or so songs that follow.

Yeah, now that you mention it...I don't have a problem with those first several songs but I also wouldn't have a problem with them being pushed back a little further in the sequence.

Most rap skits

Challenging opinion

Shit like "1984" and "In the Beginning" from Shout at the Devil were like the skit intros for hard rock/heavy metal there for awhile.

Airshow '88 on GBV's 'Same Place The Fly Got Smashed'.

I always thought Airbag and Planet Telex, from those two Radiohead albums, were a horrible pair of openers

u crazy

Yeah, they're both great openers, and neither would fit in particularly well anywhere else on their respective albums.

I never really liked the EXP/Up From the Skies opening of Axis Bold as Love

― space phwoar (Hurting 2), Sunday, February 10, 2013 3:32 AM (5 hours ago)

Like the Zappa tune mentioned upthread, it's more of a skit, but OTOH it does set up the mood for 'Up From The Skies' and 'Spanish Castle Magic'. But also it's self indulgent and could do with being shorter. A criticsm that could be levelled at a lot of Hendrix's music from 'Electric Ladyland' onwards.

I get why you would lump planet telex and airbag together tho since airbag is like planet telex 2: electric boogaloo.

The New Stone Age - OMD

Spoon's Before Destruction on Transference is definitely the weakest song on an otherwise fine album.

Disagree on "The new stone age" but I would argue that "So in love" is a dreadful album opener for "Crush", as it's a dreadful song and is possibly my least favourite OMD song.

NSA has this weird, unnecessary out of tune guitar and it's hard to get around, the end of the track is great though.

have to agree about Songs In The Key Of Life's 1st side; the worst sequenced album in history. also the CD issue means the last 4 songs (the original extra EP) are a downer too.

but then again it has "As" -> "Another Star"

Like the Zappa tune mentioned upthread, it's more of a skit, but OTOH it does set up the mood for 'Up From The Skies' and 'Spanish Castle Magic'. But also it's self indulgent and could do with being shorter. A criticsm that could be levelled at a lot of Hendrix's music from 'Electric Ladyland' onwards.

― "Did you see the sign on my car park that said 'Dead King Storage'?" (snoball), Sunday, 10 February 2013 09:00 (5 hours ago) Permalink

yeah but I find up from the skies to be kind of pedestrian too. Although it's kind of cool to have Spanish Castle Magic come out of a quiet tune.

"Radio Song" R.E.M.
"Airportman" R.E.M.

Gotta be "Wu-Revolution" from Wu-Tang Forever: six and half minutes of some geezer ranting (not rapping) about Five Percentism stuff, and it doesn't even feature any actual members of the group.

Airshow '88 on GBV's 'Same Place The Fly Got Smashed'.

― you're going home in a crispy ambulance (cajunsunday), Sunday, February 10, 2013 3:06 AM (7 hours ago)

Good one. A bit awkward indeed.

Hahaha, Tuomas otm, a while back I listened to Forever for the first time in a few years and I'd forgotten how long that thing goes on for. (xpost)

A recent one: "Can't Stop Won't Stop on Usher's Looking 4 Myself.

Not just "Love's in Need of Love Today," but nearly the entire first full side of Songs in the Key of Life.

yessssss

I said as much on a SW thread and got in shit for it

I always skip "Amerykahn Promise"

I hate the cover of "You're No Good" that starts "Van Halen II," especially since it is followed by "Dance the Night Away," which is A+.